SideStory tours of London

Author: Lydia Bell
Photography: Courtesy of SideStory

Based on the premise that every story in a city has more than a
few intriguing side stories, a new London tour company connects
travellers with an impressive collection of creative insiders, each
an authority in their field.

Among the 10 experts currently allied with SideStory are
award-winning photographer Stuart Freedman; portrait artist
Rosalind Freeborn; stylist Hannah Teare, a former fashion director
at Tatler; Karim Samuels, a practising street artist;
photojournalist Antonio Olmos; and Joshua White, a writer and
lecturer at Sotheby's, Christie's and the Tate. Each offers unique
insights into the city's cultural life.

"Those people have expertise and access to really provide a
contemporary insight into a city," says co-founder Giovanni
Donaldson. The story behind SideStory "is about people first and
foremost - it's that connection that makes an experience special
and memorable", says the former executive at Virgin Group; his
business partner, Rachael Moloney, was an editor of Wallpaper
City Guides.

The idea was conceived on a trip to Seville a few years ago. "I
pulled together a SideStory-like experience with a Getty
photographer in Seville and it was an amazing way to see a city,"
says Donaldson. "The photographer and I are still in touch
today."

Tours, from £59 ($116) per person, span three hours and take
a maximum of six people.